Device for cooking or grilling small pieces of food and method of use

ABSTRACT

A device for grilling small pieces of food is described which is a basket made of a perforated metal. The device fits inside of conventional grills even when the lid of the grill is closed and can be easily removed for shaking and turning over of the small pieces of food without their falling out. The basket has upper and lower portions each with two outwardly extending flaps. When the upper portion is placed over the lower portion the flaps interface so that the basket may be easily shaken or turned over. Furthermore, when the upper portion is placed inside the lower portion stacking during shipping and storage is facilitated.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/628,253, filed on Apr. 5, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,724 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/625,255, filed on Apr. 1, 1996, now U.S Pat. No. 5,782,173 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/571,772, filed on Dec. 13, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,286 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/442,931, filed on May 17, 1995 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,098.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various attempts have been made to develop devices for cooking or grilling specialty food items, particularly for use with outdoor barbecue grills. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,855 to Avner describes a secondary grilling apparatus which comprises a flat sheet of metal with rectangular openings which clips onto the bars of conventional barbecue grills. The sheet provides a secondary surface for grilling with smaller openings. However, the device cannot be easily taken out of the barbecue grill when hot and does not permit easy turning over of food items.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,196 to Schlosser et al. describes a pivoting auxiliary rack which attaches to the perimeter of a barbecue grill and can be pivoted from the side attachment over the surface of the grill or off to the side for easy retrieval of cooked food items. The pivoting rack comprises a circular flat grill with a rail around the edge to prevent food from falling off. The circular flat grill is similar to the main grill of the barbecue, but is held above the main grill by means of a pivot. The device suffers the same problems that a regular grill with longitudinal bars in that small food items easily slip through. Also, the device cannot be easily lifted out of the grill and shaken to turn over food items.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,941 to Goodwin discloses a barbecue basket which fully encases food items and is mounted on a spit, permitting one to easily turn cooking food items over for cooking on both sides. The device cannot be easily removed from the grill because it is mounted on a spit. Also, the device would not be suitable for small food items because the longitudinal bars create lengthwise openings through which small food items would fall out.

Other devices include the PLATINUM GRILLING WOK™ (sold by Charcoal Champion) which comprises a square bottom with trapezoidal sides that flare outward from their attachment to the square bottom. The wok contains some small circular openings to allow circulation of heated air and smoke. However, the wok contains no lid that permits shaking of food items to easily turn them over. In addition, the limited number of openings does not allow full circulation of heated air and smoke which are important for achieving optimum grilling flavor.

Still another device is the BARBECUE GRILLING GRID™ (sold by Charcoal Champion) which comprises a flat sheet with diamond-shaped openings and an upturned edge on one side. The grid cannot be easily lifted off of the grill, nor can it permit shaking of food items to turn them over without their falling out. It is essentially one-sided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for cooking or grilling small food items which permits optimum circulation of heated air and smoke to achieve full grilling/cooking flavor. The device is entirely independent from the grill requiring no attachment whatsoever. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can be easily removed from the barbecue grill and shaken, shaken while lifting only slightly, or shaken while on the grill to turn food items over without their falling out. These same functions may be achieved while cooking with the device on the grill grate by either removing the lid of the grill or lifting the lid of the grill and stirring, shifting or moving the food items inside the device with a cooking implement (such as tongs, spatula, fork, etc.).

The use of a top with the device is optional. With the top on or off, spices, sauces, and flavorings may be added while cooking. With a top, the entire device may be turned over. Also, the grilling device of the present invention is designed to fit completely within standard barbecue grills so that the top of the grill can be closed while offering the maximum amount of cooking surface area. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a light-weight grilling device that can be easily and cheaply manufactured from a single piece of starting material.

With these objects in mind, the present inventors discovered that a grilling device could be fashioned out of light-weight stainless steel mesh, or mild steel with a non-stick coating, having square openings or perforated metal, which could easily be fabricated from a single flat piece of mesh or metal by folding and which would satisfy the above objects. Due to the flexibility of the stainless steel mesh, mild steel, or perforated metal, the device can be shaped to fit the interiors of standard barbecue grills, permitting the lid of the grill to be completely shut while providing the maximum surface area for cooking small pieces of food and maximizing the aromatic effect of barbecue cooking or grilling. Since the device is independent from the grill on which it is used, food items may be prepared and placed inside the device at one location, carried and then cooked at the grill. The device may be turned over on its side and carried with one hand. Once cooking is completed, the food items may be carried from the grill inside the device to another desired location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention without a top.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment similar to that of FIG. 1 with a top in the open position and side handles.

FIG. 3 shows the embodiment of FIG. 2 with the top in the closed position.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top view of another embodiment with two inwardly facing top edges and two outwardly facing top edges and square grasping handles at each corner and hand spaces between the two corner handles.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the lid for the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a frontal cut-away view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a side cut-away view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 shows the device of FIGS. 5-8 prior to folding.

FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of the device with slots formed by curled edges that lock in the lid or provide a space for grasping.

FIG. 11 shows a preferred embodiment of the device of FIG. 5 without corner posts and without the outwardly facing top edges, which instead has optional semicircular wire handles for picking up the device.

FIG. 12 shows a preferred embodiment of the device with outwardly facing flaps on opposite sides of both the lower and upper portions that can be held together to enclose and shake small pieces of food. The device may also be made with interlocking side flaps and receiving slots on the remaining sides for added stability.

FIG. 13 is a cross-section of the embodiment of FIG. 12 taken along line 13--13.

FIG. 14 shows a preferred embodiment of the device with outwardly facing flaps on opposite sides of both the lower and upper portions that can be held together to enclose and shake small pieces of food. Each of the upper and lower portions is equipped with a flap and a receiving slot on the remaining sides for added stability.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a device for grilling small pieces of food, wherein the device comprises a basket composed of mesh having square openings throughout the mesh or perforated metal and the basket has a base that matches the shape of the grill and four side walls which are high enough to retain small pieces of food when the device is shaken and/or tilted to turn the small pieces of food over, wherein the mesh is made of a material suitable for cooking or grilling food that is welded, soldered, die cast, or woven. Preferably, the basket is shaped to fit within the interior of a grill when the lid of the grill is closed. Optionally, the basket of the device is covered with a lid that may be fastened to the device or placed on top of the device. Optionally, the basket includes a detachable handle.

As used herein, the term "perforated metal" refers to metal into which holes or openings have been punched at regular intervals. The spacing between openings is not critical, and a greater or less number of openings may be selected according to the amount of air circulation desired through the basket. Also, the shape and size of the openings is not critical and again, can be adjusted depending on the desired amount of air circulation. Preferably, circular or diamond-shaped holes are punched into the metal to form a perforated metal similar to that used in the products mentioned above made by Charcoal Champion.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of using the device to grill small pieces of food on a grill comprising placing the pieces of food in the basket, placing the basket on the grill, closing the lid of the grill, removing the basket after the small pieces of food are cooked on one side, shaking the basket to turn the pieces of food over onto their uncooked sides, and placing the basket onto the grill until the small pieces of food are cooked. Optionally, the entire device may be turned upside down with the food remaining in the basket to turn the food over when a lid is in place.

Preferably, the device is used on a covered grill having a lid and the base of the device has a rectangular or circular shape which matches the dimensions of the most commonly sold outdoor barbecue grills. More preferred is a rectangular base measuring about 11 inches by about 16 inches.

The mesh or perforated metal can be made of any material suitable for cooking or grilling pieces of food that is welded, soldered, die cast, or bent into a desired shape. Preferably, the mesh or perforated metal is stainless steel or mild steel covered with a non-stick coating such as XYLON™ (manufactured by Whitford Manufacturing). The preferred size of the openings throughout the mesh or perforated metal is between 14 gauge and 19 gauge, or which measure between about 0.2 inches across to about 0.8 inches across. The most preferred size of the openings is about 0.5 inches across.

The mesh or perforated metal can optionally be nickel-plated, porcelain-coated, or coated with a non-stick coating suitable for grilling or cooking.

As used herein, "small pieces of food" refers to those small pieces of food cooked on grills which normally fall through the longitudinal bars of a conventional grill grate. In particular, these small pieces of food include sliced, chopped, unchopped, chunked, and whole vegetables, fruits, scallops, shrimp, and pieces of meat, fish, or poultry.

Preferably, one or more divider walls can be placed inside the basket and attached to the base to create separate areas for placing different types of small food pieces. For example, all the vegetables can be placed on one side of a divider wall and all the chopped meat pieces can be placed on the other side of the divider wall.

For convenience, only FIG. 1 shows a partial representation of the perforated metal pattern. FIGS. 2-11 are in block style, with a partial representation of a mesh pattern. However, it should be understood that the perforated metal and mesh can be used interchangeably in any of the devices shown in FIGS. 1-11 and, in all cases, the partial pattern shown in the figures represent the patterns over the entire device in practice.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein one of the four side walls 3A adjoining the cooking base 1 is raised higher than the other three side walls 3B, 3C and 3D.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is preferred to attach a lid 4 having two triangular overhang portions 6 by means of fasteners 5 to the raised side 3A. The fasteners may be any suitable fasteners that withstand the heat of cooking or grilling including alligator clips or metal rings. Also, FIG. 2 shows wire semi-circular handles 2 attached to two of the sides 3C and 3D that adjoin the raised side 3A. FIG. 2 also shows a divider wall 7 placed inside the basket for separating different kinds of small food pieces.

FIG. 3 illustrates the embodiment of FIG. 2 wherein the lid 4 is in the closed position. Due to the raised edge 3A, the lid slopes downward when closed to meet the top edge of the lower front side 3B. This embodiment is advantageous because it fits inside most rectangular-shaped outdoor grills wherein the lid of the grill slopes downward toward the front of the grill.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-4 can be manufactured from a single flat piece of perforated metal by making cuts in the piece of perforated metal according to desired dimensions and folding the sides of the cut pieces upward and joining the corners with fasteners or by welding or other suitable means for joining pieces of perforated metal together. For example, starting from a single piece of perforated metal, the lid 4 can be cut out and the overhang portions 6 can be folded downward. One or more divider walls 7 can be cut from the single starting piece of perforated metal and later attached into the interior of the basket. The basket is formed from the single piece of perforated metal by folding the pre-cut sides 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D upward so that the edges of the sides meet each other. Thereafter, the adjoining edges may be fastened by suitable means for fastening pieces of perforated metal together such as closing rings, clips, solder, die cast, or welding.

FIGS. 5-8 relate to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, which also can be manufactured from a single flat piece of perforated metal by making cuts in the piece of perforated metal according to desired dimensions and folding the sides of the cut piece upward and joining the corners with fasteners or by welding or other suitable means for joining pieces of perforated metal together as discussed more fully below.

In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 5, there is an interior rectangular cooking base 1', two outwardly facing top edges 3' adjoining two side walls 5', two inwardly facing top edges 4' adjoining the other two side walls 5", and four square grasping handles 2' at each corner of the base 1'. This embodiment is advantageous because the inwardly facing edges 4' help to retain the small pieces of food when the basket is moved while on the grill and or turned over onto its side, or removed from the cooking surface and shaken to the turn the food pieces over. The outwardly facing edges 3' provide handles for easy grasping of the basket during shaking, turning the device upside down with the lid on, and in removing the device from the grill.

FIG. 6 shows the lid for the device of FIG. 5. The lid is a flat rectangular piece of perforated metal adapted to be placed on top of the opening in the device of FIG. 5. The lid can optionally be placed on top of the device and removed to permit stirring or moving of the contents within the basket. Also, the lid can be used for gathering contents in the basket by turning the device upside down while the lid is on or used for cooking by turning the device upside down so that the lid becomes the cooking base or independently removing the lid and using it as a second cooking base. The lid may be fastened at the top edge at one or more of the sides 5' so that it can be opened and closed.

FIG. 7 shows the 5' side wall and corner handles 2' cut away from the rest of the device of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 illustrates how the outwardly facing edge 3' meets the two corner handles 2'.

FIG. 8 shows the 5" side wall and corner handles cut away from the rest of the device of FIG. 5. FIG. 8 illustrates how the inwardly facing edge 4' faces away from the corner handles 2' toward the inside of the basket.

FIG. 9 shows the device of FIG. 5 prior to folding of a piece of the perforated metal. The four dashed lines indicate the four places where the flat piece of perforated metal is internally pre-cut. All internal solid lines indicate the lines along which a fold must be made. First, the two 5' side walls which include the two outwardly facing 3' edges are folded up. Second, the other two 5" side walls which include the two inwardly facing 4' edges and the corner post portions 2' are folded up forming a basket. The inwardly facing 4' edges are folded to the inside of the basket. The outwardly facing 3' edges are folded to the outside of the basket. Lastly, the corner posts are formed by folding first at line A away from the basket, then at line B in a direction parallel to the adjoining side wall 5", then at line C and finally at line D. In this way, the four corners of the corner post 2' are made.

FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of the device of FIG. 5, wherein of the two 3" top edges have been curled over towards the inside of the basket to simultaneously create a roll-shaped gripping handle and locking grooves which accept the edges of the lid of FIG. 6, which is shown as a dashed line in FIG. 10, and hold it in place on top of the basket. The lid of FIG. 6 can be removed by sliding it laterally out of the locking grooves. Since a roll-shaped gripping handle is formed by the curled top edges 3" having a C-shaped cross section, there is no need for the square grasping handles 2' of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

FIG. 11 shows a preferred embodiment of the device of FIG. 5, wherein no outwardly facing top edges are present on side walls 5B, but the two inwardly facing top edges 4" are present on sidewalls 5A. Optionally, handles 3" or other conventional handles can be included on side walls 5B for easy handling of the device. The inwardly facing top edges 4" help to retain small pieces of food in the basket when the device is shaken or turned onto its side to turn the small pieces of food over onto their uncooked sides. Of course, the device may be used without any handles 3" at all.

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 show another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The device has upper and lower portions 22 and 18, respectively. The upper portion 22 and the lower portion 18 each have a base 26 and 24, respectively, and four side walls 30 and 28, respectively. Both the upper portion 22 and the lower portion 18 are also equipped with outwardly facing flaps 12 and 14 integrally formed on opposite side walls of the half. The flaps are preferably from about 1" in width to about 3" in width. The flaps 12, 14 are fabricated so that the flaps 14 of the upper portion 22 mate with the flaps 12 of the lower portion 18 when the upper portion 22 is covering the lower portion 18 so that the grilling basket may be picked up and the small pieces of food may be shaken or the grilling basket may be turned over as a complete unit. Flaps 12, 14 may be held together by a user wearing an insulated glove. Optionally, clips or fasteners are used to clamp together 12, 14 during cooking.

In another embodiment, either the lower portion 18 or the upper portion 22 of FIG. 12 may be equipped with side flaps 16. The remaining portion is equipped with two receiving slots 20 such that the side flaps 16 interlock with the corresponding receiving slots 20 adding stability to the grilling basket when it is shaken or turned over. Optionally, the four walls 28, 30 of the upper portion 22 and the lower portion 18 are angled inward so that one portion may be turned over and stacked inside the other for shipping and/or storage purposes.

In yet another embodiment as seen in FIG. 14, the lower portion 18 is equipped with a flap 16 and a receiving slot 20 on the remaining sides. The upper portion 22 is equipped with a flap 16 and a receiving slot 20 on the remaining sides. The flap 16 and receiving slot 20 of the lower portion 18 are opposite those of the upper portion 22 such that the two portions confront each other.

It will be understood that various modifications in the invention as described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and from the scope of the claims which follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A basket for grilling small pieces of food on top of a cooking surface of an outdoor grill comprising a mesh base and a mesh side wall surrounding said mesh base which defines an opening in the basket through which small pieces of food can be introduced, said mesh having a non-stick coating, wherein said basket is adapted to rest on top of said cooking surface of said outdoor grill.
 2. The basket of claim 1, further comprising at least one handle.
 3. The basket of claim 1, wherein the opening in the basket through which the small pieces of food can be introduced is substantially rectangular.
 4. The basket of claim 3, further comprising two handles on opposite sides.
 5. The basket of claim 4, wherein the mesh base and mesh side wall are made of mild steel coated with a non-stick coating.
 6. The basket of claim 1, wherein the mesh base and mesh side wall have mesh openings which measure between about 0.2 and about 0.8 inches across.
 7. The basket of claim 1, wherein the mesh base and the mesh side wall are made of mild steel coated with a non-stick coating.
 8. The basket of claim 7, wherein the mesh base and the mesh side wall have mesh openings which measure between about 0.2 and about 0.8 inches across.
 9. The basket of 3, further comprising inwardly facing top edges on opposite sides of the substantially rectangular-shaped opening defined by the mesh side wall.
 10. The basket of claim 3, further comprising outwardly facing top edges large enough to serve as handles on opposite sides of the substantially rectangular-shaped opening defined by the mesh side wall.
 11. The basket of claim 10, further comprising inwardly facing top edges on opposite sides of the substantially rectangular-shaped opening defined by the mesh side wall which do not have the outwardly facing top edges.
 12. The basket of claim 1, wherein the opening in the basket through which the small pieces of food can be introduced is substantially circular.
 13. The basket of claim 1, wherein the mesh side wall and mesh base are folded from a single piece of mesh to form the basket.
 14. The basket of claim 2, wherein the handle or handles are detachable.
 15. The basket of claim 4, wherein the two handles are made of wire.
 16. The basket of claim 6, wherein the mesh openings are substantially square-shaped.
 17. The basket of claim 8, wherein the mesh openings are substantially square-shaped.
 18. A method of grilling small pieces of food on an outdoor grill comprisingplacing small pieces of food in a basket through an opening in the basket, said basket comprising a mesh base and a mesh side wall surrounding said mesh base which defines the opening, placing the basket on top of a cooking surface of an outdoor grill either before or after small pieces of food have been placed inside the basket, and removing the basket from the outdoor grill when the small pieces of food are cooked.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the basket further comprises at least one handle.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the opening in the basket through which the small pieces of food are placed is substantially rectangular.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the basket further comprises two handles on opposite sides.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the mesh is made of mild steel coated with a non-stick coating.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the mesh has openings which measure between about 0.2 and about 0.8 inches across.
 24. The method of claim 18, wherein the mesh is made of mild steel coated with a non-stick coating.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the mesh has openings which measure between about 0.2 and about 0.8 inches across.
 26. The method of 20, wherein the basket further comprises inwardly facing top edges on opposite sides of the substantially rectangular-shaped opening of the mesh side wall.
 27. The method of claim 20, wherein the basket further comprises outwardly facing top edges on opposite sides of the substantially rectangular-shaped opening of the mesh side wall large enough to serve as handles.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the basket further comprises inwardly facing top edges on opposite sides of the substantially rectangular-shaped opening of the mesh side wall which do not have the outwardly facing top edges.
 29. The method of claim 18, further comprising shaking the basket or stirring the small pieces of food inside the basket to turn the small pieces of food over before the basket is removed from the outdoor grill.
 30. The method of claim 18, wherein the basket further comprises a top to cover the opening of the basket.
 31. The method of claim 18, wherein the opening in the basket through which the small pieces of food are placed is substantially circular.
 32. The method of claim 19, wherein the handle or handles are detachable.
 33. The method of claim 21, wherein the two handles are made of wire.
 34. The method of claim 23, wherein the mesh openings are substantially square-shaped.
 35. The method of claim 25, wherein the mesh openings are substantially square-shaped. 